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<span style="color: #FF0000"><span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-size: 14pt">August Town gunmen agree to peace pac</span></span>t</span>
BY ERICA VIRTUE Sunday Observer writer [email protected]
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Gunmen in blood-stained August Town have agreed to a five-year peace pact under which an intermediary board will be established to work with residents and the police.
President of the August Town Community Sports Development Foundation, Kenneth Wilson, confirmed the agreement but told the Sunday Observer that finer details are being hammered out.
"The central part of this agreement is a commitment to no gunfire in the community," Wilson explained. "The first phase is to last for five years with a rider, if necessary, for annual reviews and renewal."
Leaders of warring 'corners' in the community will meet again this Wednesday to finalise the agreement, which is expected to be signed at an official ceremony scheduled for June 29 at the UWI Bowl.
Wilson said the agreement has the support of the Peace Management Initiative, his organisation, the police, the August Town chapter of Youth Crime Watch, and the University of the West Indies (UWI), which has committed to further development in the area.
Signatories to the agreement will be corner leaders from sections of the community named Vietnam, Goldsmith Villa, River, Judgment Yard, Jungle 12 and Colour Red.
"These leaders will be signing on behalf of their corners, and from this body will emerge a Corner Leaders' Peace Council, which will meet on a monthly basis to keep the discussions ongoing, and whatever issues they cannot handle they will refer to the police," Wilson disclosed.
The cease-fire comes after months of bloodletting and several rounds of meetings to stem the intermittent violence that has claimed dozens of lives over the past five years.
In April, heavily armed gangs fought a more than five-hour street battle in the community, killing two men and injuring three people. Police were eventually able to end the fierce skirmish after they entered the community in armoured trucks at minutes after 4:00 pm through a section near a quarry at Goldsmith Villa.
Early last month, four persons, including a one-year-old child, were shot dead in the continuing violence that has made life unbearable for the residents.
Sources inside the community suggested that those killings, particularly that of the one-year-old child, was the straw that broke the camel's back, as residents, otherwise not prone to violence, killed three members of the gang that committed the murders.
One man claiming intimate knowledge of the reprisal said it was a message to the gang that the residents would no longer stand by and be murdered. However, he was clear that he wanted the peace agreement to work.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Mark Shields, who has worked with the community, attending meetings with the leaders, welcomed the pact.
"August Town, I believe, presents us with a perfect example to get the anti-crime efforts right," Shields told the Sunday Observer. "It is a university town surrounded by two premier universities in the Caribbean, plus the major teaching hospital. There is a high degree of education, and educational reserves within and hovering around the community. There are good, good people here, home owners, so we have a chance to get it right, develop a model and help them make it right."
Nearly a month ago, at the height of the bloodletting, Shields pleaded at a meeting with the community to realise its potential and urged the community to choose one of two directions - right or left.
"To choose left is to be left behind, but you can choose right and be a part of what's right in August Town. And I am afraid if you don't go right, you will be left." he said to loud applause from the residents.
The community sits in the St Andrew Eastern constituency represented in Parliament by the ruling Jamaica Labour Party's Dr St Aubyn Bartlett. But Bartlett, who won the seat for the second time in last September's general elections, has not managed to win kudos from some residents who accuse him of not attending meetings aimed at brokering a peace deal.
A few residents were more forgiving of Professor Trevor Munroe, who sought to represent the constituency on a People's National Party ticket in the last general elections, saying he was new to the area.
However, they claimed that he, too, was absent from at least two planned meetings.
Efforts to get comments from both politicians were unsuccessful. In the meantime, Shields said his wish was for total disarmament over time, but he was happy to work with the current arrangement.
He said he was aware that the peace deal could leave the community open to attack from gunmen from other communities, but said he hoped that the residents would begin to trust the police and report suspicious activities.
"Three specially trained police officials who have been working with the residents will be assigned to the community," said Shields. "I have spoken with residents and heard their concerns about abuses from cops. That must not happen, not in August Town, not anywhere across Jamaica, but the citizens also have a responsibility to work together for what is right."
Professor Barry Chevannes of the UWI agreed, and added that the university had gone past promises and was waiting to put its commitment into operation.
He disclosed that the homework supervision programme offered to students of the community by UWI and University of Technology students will be revived once the violence ceases. The UWI would also be undertaking a scholarship programme to students of the community, guaranteeing them places at the UWI. The programme is aimed at children from the basic school level right through read .. preparation for university.
<span style="font-size: 14pt"><span style="color: #FF0000">Peace at last!</span></span>
<span style="font-weight: bold">Southside, Tel Aviv hoping truce will hold</span>
BY TYRONE S REID Sunday Observer staff reporter [email protected]
Sunday, June 15, 2008
SHERENE Jackson is hoping that the peace will last inside her volatile community in Central Kingston.
For the past 37 years, Jackson has been living in Southside, and witnessed more violent incidents than she cares to remember. Much of this violence has been linked to the ongoing bloody turf war between Southside and neighbouring Tel Aviv.
Residents move about freely for the first time in a long while in the crime-ravaged Tel Aviv community.
But with a symbolic peace treaty signed more than three weeks ago between the warring factions, Jackson and other residents are hoping that the guns will be silenced forever. For them, a new day is dawning in Central Kingston, and it couldn't have come soon enough.
"I am so glad for this change in the community because, in the past, I have lost a lot of friends and relatives to the gun violence. So I hope it will last," said Jackson, whose house was set ablaze by unknown persons more than three weeks ago. She is now staying with relatives.
"We glad for it, man, because is the first time fi years we can walk on the road so late and free," Jackson added.
To say that Tel Aviv and Southside have been communities under siege for years would be an understatement. With an average that exceeded one homicide every two weeks last year, the Central Kingston communities have become known more for their criminal histories than anything else.
These vendors and buyers were spotted on Gold Street last week.
According to police statistics, an estimated 1,600 people were murdered in the area during the last decade as a result of the turf conflict between Tel Aviv and Southside - where 'street justice' can be as common as 'street dances'. Over the years, police sources say the violence has been fuelled by vengeance and reprisals, resulting in the shattering of fragile peace treaties signed in the past. The community feud reportedly dates back to the 1960s and '70s, when the 'Max Gang' (which later split into the rival 'Skull' and 'Southie' gangs) existed.
But that's not all. Human relationship experts point to the fact that young men in volatile Jamaican communities like Tel Aviv and Southside inherit the criminal lifestyles of their forebears, and the chaotic environment in which they live have 'irredeemably' shaped their coming-of-age days. But perhaps most to blame is the ready availability of guns and the relentless glamourisation of violence and gang lifestyles.
Sadly, more women and children than involved gang members have lost their lives as a result of the Tel Aviv/Southside conflict. In recent times, classes at Central Kingston institutions such as Holy Family Primary have had to offer counselling to traumatised students and parents. That's why Tel Aviv residents, like community leader Lloyd Phillips, are pinning their hopes on the survival of this new peace treaty.
"Mi feel 'alright now 'bout how the community stay. We like the peace and like we all know, everything have its place," said Phillips, a dark and robust-looking man. "Mi born and grow down yah so, man, and previous times long long ago, the place did stay better. We never have them old buildings yah so we want that fi change. That's the next thing."
Phillips points to the dilapidated structures, pieces of rotting zinc, wood, heaps of rubble and graffiti on walls, just a few feet from the shop piazza we sat talking. He said such derelict structures coupled with the high unemployment rate and young men idling daily in the area, had contributed immensely to Central Kingston's reputation as a hotbed for criminal activity.
"Development must come. We want more house inna Central Kingston. You can't just have factory alone or else people ah go live on the street," Phillips argued.
Other community members who live on streets such as Rum Lane and Hanover Street also said that while they were happy for the peace, the community was predominantly made up of unemployed residents.
"If we get some good job opportunities we will alright, and right now di place ah get overpopulated wid people who not working. But fi di time being all we can do is put on some celebration party fi mek some money," said a short and talkative man, who gave his name as Malcolm. "So long as we have party, no war. Trust me. We just want the police fi work wid we. We believe inna dah peace yah. We want it fi last."
Even the business operators in Central Kingston have expressed optimism that the peace will last.
"Yes, we glad for it because people were afraid to come here, but now you see people moving around more," said Roy Smith, who works at the Taylor's Funeral Home.
Head of the Gold Street Police, based in the Southside community, Inspector Lena McBean told the Sunday Observer that she was pleased with the change in social climate in Central Kingston. She was instrumental in the symbolic signing of the peace document on May 21.
"It has been great. The atmosphere has been very good for the past couple weeks. I can say we have had tranquility for the past three weeks at least," McBean said.
She disclosed that the peace signing involved two sets of meetings whereby men from the different areas of Central Kingston walked across their respective 'turfs' and met with each other.
McBean corroborated the argument that the past years of animosity stemmed from gang rivalry and a thirst for turf control. She, too, is hoping that the peace will last, adding that a raft of "follow-up" activities were being organised to help sustain a peaceful atmosphere.
"For the peace to work, the government will have to play their part because, right now, there are major problems affecting the community like sewage, lack of streetlights in certain sections and the need for job creation to benefit the people, the youths in particular," McBean told the Sunday Observer. "Eighty per cent of the people down here are law-abiding citizens so we can't afford for the few to further mash up the place. We are not going to stand for it."
While McBean waxed optimistic, other law enforcement officials are fearful that "the new peace will not survive", citing a host of reasons why they feel the homicide rate will start rising out of control again.
Sergeant Dwight Farquharson of the Central Kingston police division appeared cynical in his assessment of the recently signed peace treaty.
"You will hardly find peace for long in places like these because people nowadays are lovers of themselves and not each other. There is an overall lack of respect for law and order. The youths, especially the men, are unemployed and there are a lot of unresolved differences among community members," said Farquharson, receiving some support from his young colleague, Hubert Menzie.
But McBean refuses to lose hope. She said activities such as corner league football, netball rallies, the formation of youth clubs, church crusades and other socially aligned programmes were being spearheaded by the police and community elders to strengthen the peace process. She is also in talks with the HEART Trust/NTA to set up a training centre in the area to benefit the youth.
"These are all part of what we consider our social intervention programmes and we want to include God in everything. He tells me what to do and on that basis, I put things into place," explained the veteran policewoman, who strongly believes the implementation of much-needed social programmes in the Central Kingston communities will tremendously help turn things around for good.
The community members also have suggestions of their own for the growth and development of their neighbourhood.
"We hope in a likkle while we can see the young people becoming more work-oriented. We want to see some construction taking place because there are nuff open lots that need fi use up," Malcolm told the Sunday Observer.
Meanwhile, McBean strongly maintains that despite the change in atmosphere in Southside and Tel Aviv, the police will continue to carry out regular patrolling duties in the communities.
"The police will still do operational duties. We still have to do the spot checks and regular raids to recover the illegal firearms from the communities. So regular policing will be ongoing," McBean explained.
"There are a lot of talented and skilful mechanics and hairdressers in Central Kingston and we want to help create avenues so that the people can have better lives and achieve sustainability. To sustain the peace we will be having regular community meetings, at least once a month, so that the residents can bring their problems to the attention of the police and we can discuss the way forward. That's what we want to achieve to minimise the problems especially crime."
That's good news for Jackson, who expressed the hope that one day the community she has known all her life will be devoid of the social ills hampering its development, and that the men, women and children will all find their happily ever-after, one day.
"We just want the peace to continue. No more killing. We want the children to be able to go to school and people to be able to go out and work. That's what Tel Aviv and Southside need more than anything. That's why I am praying that the peace will last," she added, the optimism rising in her voice.
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